Introducing our fur-tastic 2017 Xmas Short, Lynx & Birds

Dec. 12 2017

Introducing Lynx & Birds

In a short that we think would rival any Christmas advert in the cuteness stakes, we've just released the hotly anticipated 'Lynx & Birds'.

In a timely story about love triumphing over fear, we follow the story of two adorable birds in an Attenborough-esque wildlife mockumentary, that unwittingly reveals a chink in the food chain. When the birds come face to face with a fearful predator, the Lynx, there is a surprising turn of events that’s sure to warm the cockles.

Our shorts programme

Now in its 6th year, our incredibly popular company-wide shorts programme encourages experimentation in the studio and a culture of creative collaboration. Everyone in the studio has the opportunity to pitch their idea, and everyone votes for their favourite, making it unique and entirely democratic.

There was much excitement when the Christmas brief was brought to the table back in July, with two requirements - to produce a characterful creature and to create fur. Lots of it. Animation Director’s Simone Giampaolo and Francesco Mazza decided to take this to the extreme, producing a storyline with enough fur and feathers to test the capability of any render farm.

The purr-fect character

The Lynx is a character not commonly seen on our screens, and hat’s off to the look dev team who researched every movement, characteristic and behaviour of the Lynx, to produce possibly our finest ever creature. Typical of our other Xmas shorts, there’s humour in abundance, and even the Lynx is comical despite his facade, in a pantomime villain kind of way.

And all this beautiful nature at play to a cinematic soundtrack of a 40-piece orchestra, composed by the legendary Brollyman. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.

“We always encourage our artists to challenge themselves and the studio with each new short, and this time they've really smashed our expectations to bits! From creating the challenging animals covered in beautifully rendered fur to working with an epic 40-piece orchestra, we couldn't be prouder of the film everyone has collaborated to make.”
Tom Box, Co-Founder of Blue Zoo Animation